On the road to Wembley: FC Bayern's luck of the draw

Champions League - On the road to Wembley: FC Bayern's luck of the draw

On their way to the grand final at Wembley, FC Bayern face the rewarding obstacle of Lazio Roma, while Borussia Dortmund have a spicy reunion with former coach Peter Bosz and Dutch leaders PSV Eindhoven.

RB Leipzig were less fortunate in the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League in Nyon. The Bundesliga third-placed team will face record winners Real Madrid. In the Europa League, SC Freiburg will face French club RC Lens in the intermediate round.

"We've already had positive experiences with Lazio. We're going into the games as favorites, but we can't underestimate them. Everyone is looking forward to the clash. We'll try to win both games," said captain Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller said: "It's a time-honored stadium, so many battles have been fought there."

PSG and Mbappé are spared Bayern

But it could have been worse for FC Bayern. After all, Paris Saint-Germain with superstar Kylian Mbappé or Italian champions SSC Napoli were also possible.

And the team from Munich, who performed confidently in the group stage, have fond memories of the Serie A runners-up anyway. In the 2020/21 season, Lazio were easily eliminated 2:1 and 4:1. "However, that was when we had coronavirus. The stadium was actually empty," said Bayern board member Andreas Jung.

The big goal, however, is to win the title on June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London. Just like in 2013, when Munich triumphed 2:1 against BVB in the German final. Is a new edition possible?

At first glance, Eindhoven appears to be an easy draw for Dortmund, but not at second glance. The 1988 European Cup winners have won all 16 games in the honorary division with a goal difference of 56:6. Things are going really well again for Bosz at home.

The Dutchman was once not happy at BVB. In 2017, Bosz had to leave as Thomas Tuchel's successor after just a few months, partly because he had only scored two points with BVB in the group stage of the Premier League.

"Of course, we know Peter Bosz very well, both from his time at BVB and his time at Leverkusen," said BVB coach Edin Terzic and set the quarter-finals as a clear goal: "We also know that we have a great chance of progressing." The last meeting with Eindhoven was over 20 years ago. In 2002, BVB won 1:1 and 3:1 in the group stage.

Leipzig face the record winners

Leipzig's impressions of their next opponents Real Madrid are much fresher. Last season, RB defeated the Whites 3-2 in the second leg of the group stage after losing 2-0 in Madrid. "That will be an absolute highlight. Real Madrid is one of the biggest clubs in the world. So many great players have played in the white jersey, they have an incredible squad again and the stadium is ready," said RB sporting director Rouven Schröder.

He announced tough resistance in the clash with the two German stars Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger: "As an ambitious opponent, we will make life difficult for them and not be awestruck." The Saxons could possibly be helped by Madrid's bad luck with injuries. After goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, star defender David Alaba also suffered a cruciate ligament rupture on Sunday.

The first legs of the first knockout round will be played between February 13 and 21. After finishing second in the group stage, Leipzig will then have the right to play at home, while Bayern and BVB will first play away. The second legs will be played between March 5 and 13. 1. FC Union Berlin, the fourth Bundesliga team to make their debut in the top flight, finished bottom of their group in the European Cup.

Champions League for the last time in this format

In the other round of 16 matches, defending champions Manchester City will face surprise team FC Copenhagen, while FC Barcelona will play Italian champions SSC Napoli. Paris Saint-Germain have a supposedly easy opponent in Real Sociedad San Sebastian. FC Arsenal have to play FC Porto, while Inter Milan face Atlético Madrid.

This is the last season for the Champions League in this format. From next season onwards, the European premium competition will become a kind of league with 36 clubs in the preliminary round, all of which will be in the same table. There will then be two more group games for each participant. There will also be an additional knockout round for some of the participants: the play-offs for the round of 16.